


Weakness

by Chia_P



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 04:55:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9419693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chia_P/pseuds/Chia_P
Summary: When Subaru begins to feel feverish and dizzy during a Basketball Club practice, they're all concerned, and Chiaki takes charge.





	

**Author's Note:**

> If some Subaru dad feels are upsetting to you, please skip this one. Your well-being is important.

Subaru was having a hard time concentrating on the two-on-two game he was playing with the other members of the Basketball Club. His partner, Midori, was groaning and giving off the impression that he didn't really want to be there, which was actually quite normal. The unusual thing was that Mao kept staring at him in concern.

Subaru couldn't deny that he had been a little bent out of shape recently. He was really upset with the fact that Makoto had overworked himself by practicing long after the other three had left and had gotten sick because if it. His body had been strained, and his immune system had weakened. Subaru couldn't watch another person suffer like that. He just couldn't. The orange haired boy was doing his best to not show his mixed emotions of frustration and hurt, but he thought he was probably being unsuccessful, since stuff like this really got to him. He felt as though the stress was even giving him a headache. Actually, he ached all over. Basketball didn't ever do this to him. Was he really that stressed? Subaru didn't realize he was spacing out until he heard Mao speak.

“Hey, Subaru, are you ok?” Worry was evident on the redhead's face.

“Yeah, I'm fine, Sari. It's just...a little hot in here, I guess.” It wasn't a lie. He didn't know why they would turn the heat on during one of the warmer days they'd had that week. Was the change in weather making him an achy old man like Sakuma-senpai?

The three other boys exchanged a look. It was actually a bit cooler in the gym than usual. They watched Subaru begin to sway on his feet and all moved closer.

Mao bit his lip. “A-are you sure? Maybe you should sit down for a minute. I can get you some water.” 

“Maybe water would be good...” Subaru was beginning to mumble. “Now that I've stopped moving....my face kind of hurts.” He wobbled.

Chiaki immediately grabbed the usually bright-eyed boy's upper arm to steady him. “Were you feeling bad before practice?” He began to slowly walk Subaru over to the bench. Midori trailed behind them, unsure of what to do. 

“Yeah, I had a bit of a headache.”

The Basketball Club's captain carefully helped his junior to sit down on the bench and sat beside him. “All this exertion probably made it worse then.”

Once settled, Subaru replied. “I s'pose so, it's kind of now an all-ache.” He tried to laugh, but it came out as a groan.

Mao went to go grab his friend's water bottle and quickly returned. He knelt down and handed it to Subaru. “Your face looks really flushed.” He pressed a hand to the other boy's forehead. “Wow, you're burning up...that can't be from practice...” His green eyes widened in realization. “Damn. Did you catch Makoto's cold?!”

“Mmmm...maybe?” Subaru's reply came out as a tired groan. “Stuff's gettin' fuzzy.”

Chiaki spoke gently to the boy who was now leaning heavily against him. “We should probably get you to the infirmary.”

The red haired boy's face paled. “This is bad. This is very bad.”

“Don't panic, Isara. I'm sure he will be better soon if he rests. We should get going though.” Chiaki stood and helped Subaru to his feet but had to immediately catch him when the orange haired boy stumbled and fell against him.

“I'm worried that Hokuto and I are probably carriers too...and I'm on the Student Council and could have spread it-

“-To Tenshouin.” Chiaki finished his underling's thought, realizing how much of a danger that could pose. “You go contact him or the vice president. Takamine and I will get Akehoshi to the infirmary.”

Mao nodded and hurried out of the gym, grabbing his bag on the way. He didn't even bother to change out of his practice clothes, digging through his bag for his phone instead and quickly dialing Keito's number to explain.

Back in the gym, Subaru was leaning heavily against the older boy's side. His breathing seemed labored, and his captain doubted that the orange haired boy could walk on his own to the infirmary. “Hey, I'm just gonna carry you there, ok?” Upon receiving a weak nod, Chiaki moved to try to pick him up but couldn't manage it. “Damn, you're much heavier like this.”

“I'll get him.” Midori sighed as he went to pick up the smaller boy. He lifted Subaru in his arms bridal style without much struggle. He heard Subaru groan, but the second year didn't protest. Midori figured the other boy was probably too out of it to argue.

“Wow, Takamine, you're really strong.”

“It comes from carrying crates at the store. Such a pain.”

“A pain that comes in handy.” He gestured to the gym door closest to the main building. “Let's get going.” 

Midori sighed and rolled his eyes before heading to the infirmary as quickly as he could without jostling his teammate. Sagami-sensei was nowhere to be seen, so he waited for their captain to pull down the covers on an empty bed before laying Subaru upon it.

Chiaki quickly removed the near unconscious boy's shoes and tucked the covers gently around him. He turned to Midori and spoke. “You can head out now. I'll stay here with him.”

The first year nodded and left, hoping his teammate would be alright. He was beginning to worry he might get sick too. His parents would probably still make him work, and it would be even more of a pain than usual. Even if they told him to rest, his mother would still fuss and lecture him.

The Basketball Club's captain pulled a chair up next to his teammate's bedside. After looking at the boy's reddened, slightly puffy face, he walked over to the sink to get a bowl of cold water and a washcloth. He was determined to do his best to help while they waited for the school doctor to appear.

Chiaki sat down and dipped the cloth in the cold water, wrung it out, and laid it on Subaru's whole face, making sure not to block his already stuffy nose. He gently patted the cool material against the boy's swollen sinuses and warm forehead. 

Subaru groaned again and weakly turned his head slightly in Chiaki's direction.

Brown eyes widened in concern. “Oh! Does it hurt, Akehoshi.”

“Mmmm...nah...s'nice.”

“Ah, good. You just rest while we wait, ok?”

“'Kay” The younger boy shifted slightly and sighed.

When the cloth grew tepid, the brunet dipped it back in the bowl, wrung it, and placed it on the redhead's face again. A few minutes after he'd placed the cloth on Subaru's face for the third time, Chiaki heard the telltale shuffling that signaled Sagami Sensei's return. He watched the man enter the room while muttering under his breath and running a hand through the back of his hair. He moved it to his mouth to cover a yawn before catching sight of them.

“Mm? Hey, what happened?” He approached the bed to assess its new occupant.

“He started getting really dizzy during practice, and then we realized he had a fever and was a bit out of it.”

“Ah, that's probably the fever plus the exertion.” The scruffy man moved away and went to unlock the file cabinet with student charts. “I think there's a medicine for fever approved in his file...yeah, good. It's the basic stuff we keep on hand...something for congestion too.” He placed the file on his desk and shuffled away to get the pills from the locked supplies closet. The school's doctor returned with pills and a glass of water for the suffering boy.

He came back to find Subaru breathing heavily and snoring a little from the congestion. “Hmm, we should probably let him nap a little.”

Chiaki looked up. “Yeah, sounds like a good idea. I can give those to him when he wakes up later.”

“Thanks.” Sagami Sensei offered him both cups. “I have to fill out some paperwork, so I'll just be over at my desk.”

The third year nodded, took the pills and water, and placed them on a nearby table. He dipped the washcloth in the water again and replaced it on Subaru's face. When the water in his basin reached room temperature, he left to refill it. When he settled back in his chair, he saw the younger boy stir. “Hey,” he whispered, “are you awake, Akehoshi?”

“Kinda,” the orange haired boy moaned out in reply.

His captain chuckled. “Is 'kinda' awake enough to take some medicine? Sagami Sensei came back and got some for you.”

“Yeah.” The second year struggled to sit up, head spinning as he did.

Chiaki placed a steadying hand on his upper back before handing him the pills and water.

The younger boy took the cups slowly from his captain's hands and managed to swallow them withougt much trouble. Moving his head up to swallow made the room spin a little, but he wasn't falling. Something was supporting him...no, someone...it had to be Chiaki.

“Do you want to lay back down for a little while?” His voice was gentle and quieter than usual.

“Yeah. Mom can't get me yet.”

The brunet slowly helped Subaru lay back down. “Oh, that's right. She works late, doesn't she?”

“Mmm hmm.” He settled back into the bed and felt the older boy tuck the covers back around him. “She works hard...and now I'm sick.” He began to look very concerned. “Now I have to work less and she has to work more.”

Ryuseitai's leader was surprised. He hadn't seen the orange haired boy this type of concerned before. He usually saw him bouncy and happy or frustrated when Chiaki or someone else got too silly or touchy-feely with him. He began to wonder how much the younger boy had been through. He knew that Subaru had been extremely upset when Trickstar almost disbanded, but that was, as far as he could remember, the only time he'd seen the boy so down. It had crossed his mind a few times after that, but the thoughts were always quickly chased away by memories of Subaru's smile. Now that he considered it, he felt as if he'd overlooked something. There were many people who hid their troubles beneath smiling faces. It was an idol's job to be a smiling face, after all. There was no space for being a human with troubles and insecurities.

The brunet heard choked mumbling and realized he'd gotten caught up in his thoughts. He felt a pang of guilt as he tried to focus on the younger boy's words.

“...and now he's sick...like he doesn't care.” Subaru sniffled as he struggled to draw in a full breath. “He's had a hard time, but...but...bad things happen if you're careless and work too much and I...I can't...” His voice began to crack with emotion.

Chiaki realized he was probably talking about the other boy in his unit who fell ill first. He understood why the boy in front of him was so upset; he also knew crying would only make the younger boy feel worse, so he started to try to calm him down. “Hey now,” he said quietly while placing a hand on Subaru's head, “I'm sure you can talk to him about it when you're both feeling better.” He began running his fingers gently through orange locks. “I'm sure he will understand how worried you are.” He continued stroking Subaru's hair gently and watched him relax. The medicine was probably kicking in. “Yeah, just rest for now, ok?”

Through the growing fog in his mind, Subaru registered the touch. It was so gentle and reassuring. It reminded him of when he was little and his dad wouldn't make it home before bed time. He remembered how his dad would quietly slip into his room and run warm fingers through the top of his little orange mop of hair saying, "I'm sorry I didn't make it home earlier, buddy." If he came to enough at the touch, he would reach up and wrap his arms around his dad's neck for a sleepy hug. When he laid back down, the man would brush his bangs back, kiss his forehead, and whisper, “Sleep well, buddy.” On the nights when he was still awake enough, he'd whisper back, “Night, daddy.”

Before he could register what he was doing, Subaru reached up and wrapped his arms around Chiaki's neck in a weak hug.

Chiaki blinked in surprise. He'd been leaning close to the younger boy to whisper comforting words and was not expecting the increasingly groggy boy to move much. The brunet didn't pull away. He just moved a hand to rub soothing circles into the feverish boy's back.

Subaru was too exhausted to even consider being embarrassed. When he loosened his grip, Chiaki helped him lay down again. He didn't ask the younger boy what just happened, but Subaru tried to offer some kind of reasoning for his actions. "You're so like a dad sometimes,” he mumbled before settling back down into the pillow. 

Chiaki once again adjusted the younger boy's covers. He couldn't tell if it was meant to be some kind of reprimand, but he doubted it. The orange haired boy sounded so genuine and vulnerable. His heart welled with emotion and his voice was strained when he replied. "Get some sleep, buddy. I'll be right here when you wake up."

“Kay,” the younger boy whispered before closing his eyes. After a few minutes, his breathing slowed and his face relaxed a little.

The Basketball Club's captain didn't know if his teammate would remember this exchange when he recovered. He hoped Subaru wouldn't feel embarrassed if he did. The older boy understood being ashamed of weakness or vulnerability and didn't plan on bringing this up and would only discuss it if the other boy brought it up first. Even if it was never mentioned again, Chiaki would never forget the way it felt. He would work to look more closely and do his best to support the boy behind the smile.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this! Please let me know what you thought. I tweet @usanazunii if you want to chat, suggest ideas, or cry over fictional idol boys. I also combine Texts from Last Night with Ensemble Stars @EnStarsFromLN and am only a little sorry for what I post there sometimes.


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